Trouble Writing project to disk

Hi All,

I'm working on a rather large job. Just started having trouble saving my project.

The problem seems to be random. Works fine for a while then just hangs on "writing project" when saving.

It also appears to randomly hang on "prepairing video for display" when opening sequences. Each time requiring an "Opt, Cmd Esc"

I have already done the following:

Rebooted many times

Saved the project file to a different drive, trhen booted from there.

Cleared out any extrenuous sequences from the project that may have bogged the system

Freed-up plenty of space on ALL my drives including the system drive.

Repaired permissions & fixed the system drive via Apple Disk Utilities


Any thoughts...


Marc


Dual 2.5 Ghz G5, FCP 4.5, 2.5 GB RAM, QT 6.5.2, OS 10.3.9

This is one reason why I never do "large" projects. I do 5 minute chapters at a time of a large project.

A periodic error I get, and others have written about as well: something about file name does not exist, when I go to "save". In doing a save, FCP or Finder deletes the existing file name, then writes a new one... and sometimes the file name is GONE, disappears, vanishes!

I posted last week in the new features wanted thread that I wished FCS would "save as" version or timestamp, rather than "save" overwrite... like it does in Autosave Vault.

<<<Freed-up plenty of space on ALL my drives including the system drive. >>>

You didn't tell us what kind of Large Project you're working on, so it's possible "plenty" may not be enough. Does everybody have at least 10% free?

<<<Repaired permissions & fixed the system drive via Apple Disk Utilities >>>

If you want to be totally compulsive, start the system from the install CD (Hold C during boot) and run the disk utilities from there. Check/Repair all your drives, not just the System Drive. This process does a slightly better job than doing it from the hard drive.

Odd machine insanity can be caused by putting punctuation marks like slash "/" inside a file name. Don't do that.

If you do an INFO on all your drives, are any of them not formatted MacOS Extended? Sudden presence of large files will drive a PC-DOS volume to odd behavior.

You have one of the blessed versions of Quicktime, OSX, and FCP. Do Not upgrade any one thing without the other two.

Do you get the Spinning Beach Ball Of Death?

Koz

Hi Koz,

You didn't tell us what kind of Large Project you're working on, so it's possible "plenty" may not be enough. Does everybody have at least 10% free?

Over 10% free.


If you want to be totally compulsive, start the system from the install CD (Hold C during boot) and run the disk utilities from there. Check/Repair all your drives, not just the System Drive. This process does a slightly better job than doing it from the hard drive.


Yes, did it from the "c" on the system and installed drives. (I did not run it on my RAID-5 SCSI-2 media drives )


Odd machine insanity can be caused by putting punctuation marks like slash "/" inside a file name. Don't do that.

indeed...

If you do an INFO on all your drives, are any of them not formatted MacOS Extended? Sudden presence of large files will drive a PC-DOS volume to odd behavior.

All extended


You have one of the blessed versions of Quicktime, OSX, and FCP. Do Not upgrade any one thing without the other two.

Good to know...


Do you get the Spinning Beach Ball Of Death?[/i]

No, just hangs. It's kinda wierd - I can click on the cancel button attempting to get free, it activates, but never does cancel.


I may have stumbled on a work-around - for the past hour as long as I save after clicking on the "sequence", not the "browser" (bin), the issue has not returned... will advise.

Best,

M

Hi Nick,

Yup. It's a 108 min piece - broken into roughly 11 parts...

Best,

M

file size?

Today is a bit of Dejavou for me.

For the past three years, using FCP versions 3 up to 4.5, every time I've come to the finishing stage of my LARGER projects, ( I work on allot of long form Doc's 110 mins etc.), my system always goes nuts. This project has been relatively trouble free, up until the last few days, now that it has grown a bit through the NORMAL revision process, it is burping and hanging. Its bad enough that I need to repeatedly render QT movies of each of the sequences and cut them into a separate timeline just to be able to play back the show or output a tied master for approvals. (Are Nick and I the only ones having to do this) Is everyone else who isn't just cutting a :30 spot, music video or trailer having this kind of trouble? Are any of the later versions of FCP better at handling the "large project" issue???

I have not checked with the new features request lately, but this seams like something that should have been resolved years ago... if not, it sure seems like apple is missing the boat here.

Your thoughts,

M

file size????

as you get closer to the end of your show than the beginning, there is less need to hang onto everything in the one project.

you may well NOT need your rushes anymore, and peel them out.
alternatively, you might move just your most recent projects into an ON-LINE project


nick

Hi Nick,

Already shut down for the night... will get the size tomorrow. As for the peel out Q. I already do that periodically throughout the life of the project. The way these projects go, lots of image montages and reworking of the information, I can't easily avoid having ALL the media accessible - My hands and client would be creatively tied with a cut-down job...

M

<<<You didn't tell us what kind of Large Project you're working on>>>
<<<file size???? >>>

108 minute What!?! DV? Uncompressed 8-Bit? Give us a push here.

Koz

Hi Koz,

Back in the studio.

OK... the project is 90% DV masters @ DV-NTSC resolution.

When you say <<file size>> are you referring to the "project file" size? if so, it is 190MB. The job itself resides on roughly 3TBs of RAID-5 space (DV res).

Hope this helps.

Best,

Marc

190MB is too big.

no wonder you;re crasing etc.

split it into at least 2 projects


nick

Hi Nick,

Thanks for the input but easier said then done. This project like many I have worked on with this client require constant access to ALL of the media. The piece is very montage based and the script is continuously changing. To split the project up into multiples, (unless I could have them open and accessible at the same time - Is this possible???) would be a creative straight-jacket.

One would think in the day and age of the I-Phone, You-tube and 300 gig HD's for $80, a brilliant company like Apple could create a user friendly platform for the long form editor - my 2-cents.

Best,

M

<<<the long form editor >>>

This must drive Apple nuts. It's been our experience that the closer you get to The Big Kids, the more unstable the systems get.

Try interoperating several Final Cut rooms with Flames, Infernos, Premieres, or Avids; or, like us, all of them. The phrase "Does Not Play Well With Others" springs to your lips.

On our Final Cut machines, the User is not the Administrator. Again, this happens in very large shops and let me suggest what interesting things happen when you do that. Some preset panels work.....

And as you're finding out. Things go really well until you produce a really big, expensive, high profile show..... (What do you mean I need to do it in five minute chunks? This isn't an Amiga.)

etc.

[sigh]

Koz

yes you can have multiple projects open at same time in FCP.

multiple small projects i suspect would be better than one giant one.
in your case you could probably split rushes and sequences.

nick

Koz. Koz. Koz. Stop scaring the kids! They'll switch back to Premiere. Did you happen to notice the software level of the original poster? 4.5
Think that might have something to do with it?

My suggestion is to bring everything up to current level software, then we can talk. Of course you NEVER would want to do this mid project!!! Never. Never. Never.

I remember we had "large project file" size issues back with version 4.5, but they disappeared with newer versions. There's a reason why software gets upgraded... to fix these kinds of bugs.

As for your comment about "big shows"... we've been doing hour longs and feature length shows for over three years... all on deadline, many with a fairly "high profile" Haven't missed an air date yet.

Mark

<<<Haven't missed an air date yet. >>>

Did you bust them up into chunks?

Koz